Protective fingernail covering and means for mounting same



Aug. 7, 1951 F. MUHLHAUSER 2,563,689

PROTECTIVE FINGERNAIL COVERING AND MEANSFOR MOUNTING SAME Patented Aug. 7, 1951 PROTECTIVE FINGERNAIL COVERING AND MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAME Fritz Muhlhauser, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 14, 1948, Serial No. 44,364

2 Claims.

Thi invention relates to a protective finger nail covering and the means for mounting same.

The objects of this invention are to provide a tape covering for finger nails which will protect and prevent the nail and cuticle from being bitten, which will prevent and eliminate sucking of the fingers by children and infants, which will eliminate the scratching of the skin by the infant and which will also serve to permit broken finger nails to heal.

It is a common practice, particularly among children and infants, to unconsciously place their fingers in their mouths, either for the purpose of biting the nails or for sucking the fingers. An object of this invention therefore is to provide means for efiectively breaking this habit by covering the finger nails with a protective tape covering which does not interfere with the normal use of the fingers and hands but which protects the finger nails and cuticle so that they cannot be bitten and which if introduced into the mouth will immediately direct the childs attention to an extraneous element. Infants scratch others as well as themselves and an object of this invention is to provide an effective means for preventing this.

Another object is to provide a protective finger nail covering which wi1l be securely and positively fastened to the fingers and will not be accidently removed therefrom.

Another object is to provide a novel manner of mounting the finger nail protective coverings on a backing strip whereby they are easily handled and may be easily and conveniently applied to the finger.

Other objects will become apparent as this description progresses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top view showing the protective coverings of my invention mounted on a backing sheet.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top fragmentary view showing the protective coverings on a backing strip and the backing strip superimposed on an adjacent backing strip.

Fig. 4 is a View showing the manner of removing the protective covering from the mounting sheet and applying it to the finger.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the protective finger covering.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the first position of the protective covering when applied to the finger.

Fig. 7 is a view showing the protective covering completely secured to the finger, and

Fig. 8 is a View showing the bottom of the finger with the protective covering thereon.

The individual protective covering, generally indicated by the numeral 9, and best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 will be first described. It comprises a single piece of flexible tape material of the type commonly usedfor bandages, which has a covering portion Ill of a shape and size to completely cover the top of the finger nail, an intermediate narrowed section l2 and an extension which forms the lower bottom portion [4. The covering portion II! has a pair of oppositely extending tabs It and I8 which are arcuately shaped and extend laterally of the covering portion Hi. The intermediate narrowed section is formed. by the tapering of the adjoining edges. The top surface of the tape is smooth while the underside has an adhesive coating 20 throughout which permits the same to be secured to the fingernail and to the finger. Theadhesive coating is a pressure sensitive adhesive commonly used for tape bandages which requires no wetting or other preparation and which may be readily applied to the nail and to the finger and held thereon until positively removed, and when removed leaves no adhesive residue.

The protective covering 9 is secured to the finger nail in the following manner. The covering portion I!) is positioned on the finger nail 22, as shown in Fig. 6, so that it completely covers same with the adhesive side 20 contacting the finger nail. The bottom portion I4 is folded down over the forefront of the finger to completely cover the front and exposed edge of the finger nail and. then rearwardly to engage the underside of the finger. The adhesive: secures same to the finger. One of the lateral. tabs I6 is wrapped around the side and bottom of the finger and then the other tab I8 is likewise wrapped around and overlaps the tab I6 as best shown in'Fig. 8. This secures the protective covering to the finger and finger nail so that it cannot be removed unless done so deliberately. The protective covering 9 thereby covers the top and the front edge of the finger nail including the cuticle as well as the front part of the finger.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive I show the means for mounting the tape protectors on a display sheet to make same convenient for packaging as well as for ready use. A rectangular strip of material 24, preferably a stiffened or semi-stiffened net fabric or scrim, is used as the mounting or backing piece. Along the opposite sides of the strip I provide a plurality of spaced cutouts 26 over which are superimposed the protectors 9. The protector is secured to the mounting piece with the adhesive side engaging the material and the covering portion Ill directly overlying the cutout 26 with the tabs 16 and I8 adjacent the border or side of the edge of the strip 24.

In the drawings I show the backing strip 24 supporting five protective coverings. Three of them are positioned on one side and two on the opposite side in staggered relation. The protective coverings may be made of different sizes so that there are several different sized covering portions on a single display card, one for each of the five fingers of the hand. 'Two backing strips with the respective protective covers mounted thereon are placed back to back but the sides are reversed so that the cutouts 26 of each are not in alignment with each other. This will prevent the exposed adhesive surfaces from contacting each other. If desired, a separating sheet may 1' be interposed between the two. Two mounted backing strips may be placed in an envelope.

In using my improved finger protectors, the two mounting strips 24 are separated, exposing the adhesive surface of the covering portions ID.

The finger nail desired to be covered is positioned in the slot 26 under the cover portion l0 so that theadhesive secures same to the finger. The tabs I6 and I8 and the bottom portion l4 are then removed or lifted from the mounting strip until same is clear of the strip, then the parts are secured to the finger as previousl described.

dren, the top of the covering portion It] may have imprinted or impressed thereon in any suitable manner various designs generally indicated by the numeral 28. Also if desired the protective covering may be impregnated with a harmless but disagreeable tasting substance.

I claim:

1. The combination of a finger nail protective covering and. a removable mounting sheet therefor, said mounting sheet having a cut-out in the marginal edge thereof, said covering being formed of flexible material adhesively coated on the under side thereof and comprising a nail engaging portion adapted to be placed on a finger nail,

a longitudinal extension integral with said nail engaging portion and adapted to engage the under side of a finger, and a pair of tabs integral with said nail engaging portion and extendin 1o laterally thereof, said covering being removably finger and'secured thereon.

2. The combination of a finger nail protective covering and a mounting sheet therefor, said sheet having a cut-out in the marginal edge thereof, said covering being formed of flexible 2o material adhesively coated on the underside thereof and comprising a finger nail engaging portion and integral longitudinal and lateral extensions adapted'to engage portions of a finger tip, said covering being removably mounted on said sheet with the. nail engaging portion disposed over said cut-out and the adhesively coated under side of said nail engaging portion exposed so as to be engaged by a finger and secured thereon. v

I FRITZ MUHLHAUSER. For an ornamental efiect, particularly for chil- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent;

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 7 Name Date 2,253,108 Casey Aug. 19, 1941 2,401,714 Weil June 4, 1946 2,440,235 Solomon Apr. 20,1948

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